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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29643750">of gaming and giggling</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/giggly__gay/pseuds/spritewrites'>spritewrites (giggly__gay)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell, Simon Snow &amp; Related Fandoms</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bonding, Fluff, Friendship, Gaming, Gen, M/M, Tickling, Touch-Starved, baz feels left out, until he doesn't</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 06:01:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,522</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29643750</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/giggly__gay/pseuds/spritewrites</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Okay, so somewhere between first year and now there had been some sort of miscalculation. </p><p>Baz doesn’t really have time to dwell on it properly, but surely there was a moment between meeting eleven-year-old Simon Snow in the attic room of Mummers and being here, on Penelope Bunce’s couch, where he could have made some sort of tactical move – a spell, perhaps, or a well-planned murder of some kind, if it came to it – that would have avoided him ending up face-down in a pillow, screeching for his life.</p><p>Or, Baz finds out he's ticklish. So does everybody else.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch/Simon Snow</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>106</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>of gaming and giggling</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Bunce first suggests that they play video games, Baz is excited. His Switch had made it into his bag when he was packing for the weekend at the Bunce’s, and he’d been hoping that there would be an opportunity to pull it out. He doesn’t have many party games, because he usually has to play by himself – his sisters are too young to join in, and besides, he wouldn’t want them to anyway. But he got a couple, for Christmas, mostly online stuff that he can play with Simon when they’re long-distance.</p><p> </p><p>What Baz didn’t realize, however, that Simon and Bunce – er, Penelope, he supposes – actually play a lot of video games together. Penelope’s got a whole shelf of party games, and she knows just the ones that are good for three players (probably from when Agatha was still around, Baz thinks). Simon’s got an opinion on all of them, and Baz wonders how many hours of playing together they’ve got under their belts. Playing without him. He’s got a lot to catch up on.</p><p> </p><p>Baz also didn’t realize that they were so <em>physical</em>. Not in a romantic way, or anything, it’s just… Baz feels honored when Simon so much as holds his hand. It’s small touches still, with them. Shy thumbs rubbing over knuckles, a kiss to the cheek here and there. But Simon and Penelope, they’ve got a long history together. Of sleepovers, squished backseat car rides, of crawling into one another’s personal space. They’re always pushing and prodding, riling each other up, and Baz… well, he’s not part of it. Not yet. He guesses he could be, someday, and who knows? Maybe that would be nice. But for now, he’s glad he didn’t sit in the middle of the couch; there’s too much <em>touching</em>.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re cheating!” Penelope shouts. On the screen, Dark Samus narrowly avoids death by grabbing the edge of the platform and hauling herself back up.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t need to,” Simon replies cheekily, rolling directly into her as Sonic and sending her flying again. Penelope sticks her tongue out at him, and Simon digs a playful elbow into her ribs. On the other side of the couch, Baz directs Kirby to float above the action, trying to fly (literally) under the radar. Simon had made fun of him for picking Kirby, but honestly, what better choice for a brooding queer vampire than the little pink blob.</p><p> </p><p>“He’s basic,” Simon had insisted.</p><p> </p><p>“He’s <em>friend-shaped</em>,” Baz had hissed back, smiling when Simon rolled his eyes playfully. Baz had shown him, though, when he’d won the last two games by repeatedly flying to the top of the level and attacking down with the spiky box. Point: Basilton Pitch. This game, however, Simon and Penelope have been going at each other – in more ways than one.</p><p> </p><p>“You <em>suck</em> at this,” Simon crows, laughing when Penelope shoves him. “Stop it, you’re gonna make me fall off the platform!”</p><p> </p><p>“Good!”</p><p> </p><p>Simon tries to shove her back, but she’s ready. Instead of thumping his shoulder into her side, Penelope dodges so he lands fully in her lap with a little noise of shock, his skull barely missing a collision with Baz’s chin.</p><p> </p><p>“Shit!” Baz gasps, jerking out of the way and reaching to pause the game.</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry!” Simon calls, cutting himself off with a yelp as Penelope, with practiced precision, shoves his torso off her knees and onto the floor. Somehow, and maybe this is from years of performing this exact routine, Simon manages to catch her legs in his grip on the way down, and Penelope tumbles after him with a shriek. They roll, once, and Penelope lands on top, sitting on Simon’s stomach. He’s pushing at her hands, laughing hard, and Baz cranes his neck a little to catch a glimpse of his boyfriend’s smile. Baz isn’t really sure what’s going on, to be honest, but if it makes Simon smile like that, it’s gotta be worth it.</p><p> </p><p>Then, Simon lets out a high-pitched sound that makes Baz jump. “What’re you…” Baz starts, then stops when he sees Penelope’s hands on Simon’s stomach, fingers burrowing into his sides. “Oh.”</p><p> </p><p>The scuffle on the floor is revitalized by this new development. Baz can’t see his boyfriend’s face, but his laughter is quite literally speaking volumes. Simon can’t seem to decide between fight and flight, but a series of squeezes along his sides tips the scales decidedly to the latter. He arches his back, breathless, and squirms enough that he flips over onto his front, kicking and shrieking. He curls into a particularly cruel jab to his ribs, and Baz catches a glimpse of his face.</p><p> </p><p>His nose scrunches up when he giggles. Baz has never noticed that before.</p><p> </p><p>“Si’s <em>stupid</em> ticklish,” Penelope grins, raising her voice to be heard over Simon’s squeaks of laughter. His heels are scrabbling on the floor, one fist is thumping weakly on Penelope’s leg, and Baz can feel his cheeks stretching into a fond smile. <em>Crowley</em>, he thinks. <em>I’m getting soft.</em></p><p> </p><p>“Baz, <em>help</em>,” Simon gasps, stretching out a hand to try to grab his boyfriend’s ankle. He almost gets a grip, too, but Baz chuckles and lifts his leg out of reach.</p><p> </p><p>“Nice try,” he teases, just as Penelope shoves a hand into Simon’s exposed underarm and he jerks that elbow to his side with a squeal.</p><p> </p><p>“D’you give?” she says, curls falling into her face with the effort of keeping Simon in her arms and in one piece, but he’s already nodding frantically.</p><p> </p><p>“Give! Give!” he wheezes, and her hands retract. Simon’s cheeks are red as apples, and he’s got both arms wrapped firmly around his stomach, still giggling. He’s probably going to feel this in his abs tomorrow; Crowley knows that Baz usually does when he laughs like that.</p><p> </p><p>Penelope’s nice enough to prop Simon up against the couch, and he leans his head on Baz’s knee. Baz runs a hand through his honey-colored hair, and Simon scoots closer and kisses his knee through his jeans. Soft bastard. Penelope wrinkles her nose.</p><p> </p><p>“You guys are <em>so</em> much.”</p><p> </p><p>Simon rolls his eyes, hugging Baz’s calf. “I’m <em>recovering</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>“Recovering from cheating, you moron,” Penelope snorts. She folds her arms like Baz always used to see her do, back when he thought she was just an uppity nobody, nothing more than a competitor for <em>his</em> top spot in the class ranking. Now, Baz thinks about her rolling over the thick wood floors at Watford with Simon, both of them laughing hysterically. He thinks about Simon, which is not unusual in and of itself. But he thinks about how in about eight years of knowing him – making it his <em>priority</em> to know him – he never found out that Simon is ticklish. He thinks about all the other little bits of Simon Snow that he doesn’t know. In retrospect, there’s probably a lot. The thought makes him a little sad, but also a little excited. All the time in the world to find them out.</p><p> </p><p>He’s yanked from his thoughts by the last question he expected to hear.</p><p> </p><p>“Are <em>you</em> ticklish, Baz?” Penelope grins up at the vampire, her tongue between her teeth. Baz can feel the heat, what little there is, rise in his cheeks.</p><p> </p><p>“I – um…”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s a yes!” Penelope laughs, but Simon’s moving in front of Baz protectively (as protectively as he can while still on the floor).</p><p> </p><p>“Leave him alone,” he shouts, playfully pretending to hold out the Sword of Mages. “You’ll not harm this boy in my presence!”</p><p> </p><p>“He’s a <em>creature of darkness</em>,” Penelope sighs, pretending to be exasperated. She shoots Baz a quick look, probably checking if ‘creature of darkness’ is offensive, but Baz has both hands over his mouth, shoulders shaking with repressed laughter. Simon grins and raises his fake sword.</p><p> </p><p>“The power of the Sword of Mages commands – EEP!”</p><p> </p><p>The poke that Penelope lands in Simon’s underarm sends him about a foot in the air. Penelope and Baz both burst out laughing as Simon’s cheeks color again.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s not fair!” he cries, huddling further into Baz’s knees. In a moment of sudden boldness, Baz leans forward and curls a hand over Simon’s neck. He’s rewarded by a shiver and a delightful squeak. “Not you too!”</p><p> </p><p>“Come on, you don’t <em>really</em> mind,” Penelope scoffs, trying to wrangle Simon’s ankle while avoiding being kicked (without much success). “If you actually minded, you wouldn’t cheat at video games.”</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t cheat,” Simon protests. “It’s not my fault you’re bad at video games!” Baz notices with some level of amusement that he doesn’t deny the other part of Penelope’s accusation. Information for later, he supposes.</p><p> </p><p>“Besides,” Simon continues, “I doubt vampires can even <em>be</em> ticklish.”</p><p> </p><p>Baz feels his breath catch in his throat. He’d kind of thought he’d managed to skate past <em>that</em> conversation scot-free. Penelope’s already wrinkling her nose.</p><p> </p><p>“Nonsense. Did all our vampire research in sixth year teach you nothing? Vampires have heightened senses; I bet that means he’s <em>extra</em> ticklish.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, I—” Baz begins, but Simon cuts him off with a roll of his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“He’s all broody and plotting, Penny. Arch-nemeses <em>aren’t</em> ticklish – even if they don’t turn out to be as evil as you thought,” he amends, pressing another quick kiss to Baz’s knee. “Anyway, I think I’d know if my own boyfriend was ticklish.”</p><p> </p><p><em>I didn’t know that you were</em>, Baz thinks, but decides to keep that to himself. “I think we’ve proven that I was doing significantly less plotting than you originally thought, love.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah-HAH!” Penny cries, pointing an accusing finger. “He admits it!”</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t <em>admit</em> it…” Baz sighs. He half-expects another rebuttal from Simon, but his boyfriend is turning to look at him curiously.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Are</em> you ticklish, love?”</p><p> </p><p>Baz freezes for a second under the pressure of two sets of eyes on him, then, after a few breaths, gives a small shrug. “I, um. I don’t really know.”</p><p> </p><p>Penelope’s eyes widen. “You <em>don’t know</em>? Nobody’s ever tickled you before?”</p><p> </p><p>“Probably when I was a baby or something. But not that I can remember.”</p><p> </p><p>Simon thunks his forehead against his boyfriend’s thigh, wrapping both arms around his leg. “Aw. That’s actually kind of sad.”</p><p> </p><p>“S’not <em>sad</em>,” Baz mumbles with a roll of his eyes. Honestly, until now, it hasn’t been something he’s <em>missed</em> in any meaningful way. But seeing Simon and Penelope rolling around like that, laughing, so <em>close</em>…</p><p> </p><p>There’s a new gleam in Penelope’s eye, and she hops back on to her spot on the couch right next to Baz. “Science experiment?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh…” His eyes dart to Simon. Despite his inexperience, something in Baz’s gut is telling him to <em>run for his life</em>. Simon’s gazing back at him, grinning, maybe a little mischievous – maybe a little encouraging? “I mean…”</p><p> </p><p>“We don’t have to,” Simon jumps in. “If you don’t want to.” <em>Crowley</em>, sometimes Simon could be almost painfully cute.</p><p> </p><p>Feeling shy, of all things, is something that Baz isn’t very accustomed to, but it’s there in his chest when he shrugs again. “I don’t mind if you want to try. Can’t promise it’ll be very fun, though.”</p><p> </p><p>Penelope grins and scoots closer, hovering wiggling fingers over his side. Anticipation, nervousness, and some kind of strange glee mix in Baz’s stomach, and he curls away from the potential threat – just as a hand, Simon’s, squeezes just above his knee. He jumps and inhales sharply, which makes Penelope’s eyes light up.</p><p> </p><p>“On the contrary,” she says, and two cleverly placed fingers make contact with Baz’s side. Another jump. “I think this will be <em>very</em> fun.”</p><p> </p><p>Okay, so somewhere between first year and now there had been some sort of miscalculation.</p><p> </p><p>Baz doesn’t really have time to dwell on it properly, but surely there was a moment between meeting eleven-year-old Simon Snow in the attic room of Mummers and being here, on Penelope Bunce’s couch, where he could have made some sort of tactical move – a spell, perhaps, or a well-planned murder of some kind, if it came to it – that would have avoided him ending up face-down in a pillow, screeching for his life as evil fingers crawl their way over every sensitive spot that he never knew he had.</p><p> </p><p>Somebody’s snuck their way into his underarms, significantly reducing his flailing by keeping his arms firmly stuck to his sides. Somebody else – Penelope, he’s pretty sure – got a grip around one of his knees, and if Baz makes it out of this, she’s as <em>good as dead</em>. He tries to kick, once, but Penelope is quick to abandon his knees in favor of grabbing his ankle. He yanks it back out of her grip before she can do anything with that new acquisition, though, and resolves not to try <em>that</em> again, for fear of what might happen if he does.</p><p> </p><p>The fingers in his underarms move down to his ribs, eliciting huffing giggles that the pillow is doing little to muffle, before jumping suddenly up to his neck. Baz shrieks, flipping off the couch with a hidden well of vampire super-strength that results in him landing unceremoniously on the floor.</p><p> </p><p>When he pushes the hair out of his eyes, breathing hard, Simon and Penelope are… they’re <em>laughing</em> at him.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay,” Penelope manages between giggles. “I think you’re ticklish.”</p><p> </p><p>“Understatement,” Baz grumbles, climbing back into his seat, but he can’t keep the lingering smile off his face. “That wasn’t <em>fair</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>“Doesn’t have to be fair,” Penelope teases back.</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t <em>know</em>—”</p><p> </p><p>“About your neck?”</p><p> </p><p>Baz snaps his jaw closed, instinctively hitching his shoulders up to his ears. “Shut up.”</p><p> </p><p>“Isn’t that kind of ironic, a vampire with a ticklish neck—”</p><p> </p><p>“I said <em>shut up</em>,” he says in his best vampire growl, but it honestly comes out more like a squeak. Penelope laughs, and she sounds sort of… fond. Baz snorts, straightening out his shirt in an effort to find something to do with his hands. <em>Well</em>. Even if she’s not totally innocent, it’s not like <em>she</em> was the one who went for a weak spot. That was…</p><p> </p><p>He catches Simon’s eye, and he’s <em>beaming</em>, absolutely glowing like Baz has never seen. He quirks an eyebrow. “All right, love?”</p><p> </p><p>Simon’s smile widens. “You’re <em>adorable</em>,” he breathes, and his eyes are sparkling.</p><p> </p><p>Baz feels suddenly too warm, and shifts his weight uncomfortably. “M’not—”</p><p> </p><p>Penelope, for her part, pretends to gag. “Okay, enough simping – <em>hey</em>!” She’s cut off when Simon pinches up her side, making her squeal.</p><p> </p><p>Baz laughs at that, and it sounds almost too-loud in the small living room, but Simon joins in. Penelope recovers quickly, flipping Simon off, which only makes him laugh harder. Baz reaches over and tickles over her neck, shy, but she grabs his wrist before she even starts giggling.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, <em>that’s</em> not gonna fly anymore—”</p><p> </p><p>He’s back under attack again, flushed and breathless and laughing harder than he ever has before, but it’s not as torturous as he thought it would be. Actually, come to think of it, none of this is; touching, laughing, <em>bonding</em> with his friends? None of this is anywhere near as scary as he’d thought.</p><p> </p><p>A vampire could honestly get used to this.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Tumblr: spritewrites</p></blockquote></div></div>
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